For most of us, April is the final (full) month of ministry with students before they leave for summer break.  The end is in sight, but there are still more meaningful ministry opportunities for us to take advantage of.

In a previous post I shared some thoughts on Avoiding Autopilot Syndrome during this post-spring break season of ministry.  Students tend to check out during these final weeks of the school year, and it can be very tempting to ‘return the favor’ as we are equally tired – from a full season of ministry, and eager – for the change of pace that comes when students leave for the summer.

SO, I thought I might post a few ideas about how we can still connect with, love and serve our students over the month of April.

This list will NOT be complete, so please feel free to add your ideas in the comment section below:

Take advantage of April Fool’s Day!  Find a creative way to pull one over on some of your students… they probably won’t see it coming from you (or maybe they’ll totally be expecting it — we’re all so different), but this can be a great way for students to see the ‘less serious’ side of us.

Celebrate Easter.  Depending on when Easter falls on the calendar from one year to the next, February and March… and even some of April can be a meaningful time of ministry through observing the season of Lent.  This Easter season could be a great opportunity to invite students to church and/or our home to join with us in celebrating the gift of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and ascension!  Inviting students to be a part of our family, especially during holiday festivities when they don’t have a chance to get home, is a HUGE opportunity!

Early April is a great time to host a “thank you” event to celebrate the contributions of our student leaders. We all know that the closer we get to the end of the school year the harder it can be to get people together… schedules get too full and students begin to feel the crunch of impending deadlines. Try to do this early enough to assure the maximum number of student leaders get celebrated!

Likewise, early April can be a great time to host “reunions” for mission teams that went out over spring break. Helping students to continue processing what they learned through their experience/s over the break, while they are still fresh, is critical.

April 15th is Tax Day.  Some students may need assistance walking through the tax process for the first time — without their parents, away from home, and probably in a different state.  Serving as a resource for students in this process can be so helpful.  We don’t have to be a tax expert to be of assistance… knowing important websites or local tax experts who can provide support can be key. We can also consider organizing some tax assistance on campus by partnering with interested students and faculty from the math/accounting/finance department/s to provide free (or cheap) assistance to students on campus.

April can be a pivotal month in preparing for next year – specifically in terms of student leadership recruitment, selection, relationship building and training.  What we do in these areas now set us up for a successful (or challenging) start to the fall semester.

With the warm weather and longer days, creating space to be out on campus — amidst the students who are finding any (and every) reason to be outside — can create some great relational opportunities with students that we may, or may not, already know.  Jump into a game of ultimate frisbee, take-in a concert on campus, watch a baseball game, or grab lunch or coffee with a student and take it outside.

Look for opportunities to take some intentional time with students getting ready to graduate. Having conversations about ‘life after college,’ and how God might want to use them ‘out in the real world,’ can be very meaningful for these students who aren’t quite sure what they are about to face… and may be experiencing increasing levels of anxiety as graduation day draws closer.

Consider using any remaining funds in your budget (especially if it won’t roll over to next year’s budget) to host a ‘It’s Free Week’.  As a way of simply showing students that you care about them, take a week to camp out in the middle of campus and pass out something for free.  One day it could be cans of cold soda, another day Krispy Cream donuts, another day…  well, you get the idea.  The intent is to let students know that they are loved — no strings attached.  (A colleague recently shared this idea with me based on his experience down at UGA).